Mehrnam Rastegari Returns to Joe's Pub December 11

One of NYC's most dynamic young International Artists, Mehrnam Rastegari returns to Joe's Pub on December 11th to celebrate the release of her dazzling debut album, Dislocated Pulse.

An award-winning composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and master of the kamancheh -the Persian bowed spiked fiddle - Rastegari leads a quartet of extraordinary, NYC-based musicians on a dizzying deep dive into Persian psych rock. Joined by guitarist Amit Peled, bassist Panagiotis Andreou, drummer Dani Danor, and special guest percussionist Martin Shamoonpour on daf and dayereh, Rastegari leads this powerhouse ensemble through six original compositions and one reimagned Kurdish folk piece.

The raw, otherworldly sound of the kamancheh and folk-rooted vocals anchor the music in centuries-old storytelling, while electronic effects carry them forward in time. Persian scales resurface on microtonal fretted electric guitar, echoing the Middle Eastern accent with distortion, while heavy fretless bass and expansive drums drive the sound into a bold contemporary terrain.

Each track on Dislocated Pulse carries a different mood and message. "I'm Longing" explores exile and being homesick without choice. "Let Me Be Happy" wrestles with the album's central theme of wanting to be happy while filled with anger, and with the sense that maybe everything in this world is already out of place. While "Velveleh" and "Naz" celebrate dancing naturally to an irregular rhythm, like a dislocated pulse. These songs move between tension and release, fusing psych-rock drive with the microtonal edge of the kamancheh. Distortion, jagged grooves, and emotion carry the sound forward like a pulse that's never steady.

NYC-based Persian musician Mehrnam Rastegari is a master kamancheh player, singer, violinist, and award-winning composer who tears through boundaries between tradition and modern sound. She fuses Persian microtonal music with rock, psych, and fusion, creating performances that hit hard and linger.

Founder of three different music bands in New York City Mehrnam Rastegari Traditional Persian Band, a trio of Balkan and Persian music Senavazi, and the one of a kind Middle Eastern psych rock band Chogan, she continues to push Persian music into new, unexpected directions while mentoring young musicians across Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. Her work proves heritage and experimentation can collide with force and finesse.

Her international stage credits include the Bill Gates Goalkeepers 2024 event with Grammy winner Jon Batiste, WOMEX, GlobalFest, Pitchfork Music Festival, Le Guess Who?, and performances at the United Nations. Rastegari has scored over 10 films, winning "Best Original Score" at the Melbourne City Independent Film Awards.